Studies of Hands

1770s-1780s

This previously unidentified drawing has recently been attributed to Louis Roland Trinquesse, a French genre and portrait painter whose accomplished red chalk studies were avidly collected in his lifetime. The depiction of hands proved difficult for Trinquesse, who often painted them as clumsy and misshapen. This shortcoming may have prompted the artist to execute some hand studies from life. His skillful handling of the chalk in this sheet and meticulous description of parts of the hands, as well as drapery and buttoned sleeves contrast with its awkward portrayal of some of the fingers. The largest hand, for instance, is shown with a disproportionately long thumb, and the hand in the middle in the sheet is also distorted, with an oddly shaped, extended thumb and arthritically strained joints and knuckles.